Finding Yourself
by KLHF23
Summary: George Weasley is missing and Hermione is the only one who seems willing to help Fred find him. HIATUS: I WILL finish this one, but it may take awhile.
1. Chapter 1

He had been missing for nearly two weeks and despite what the others thought, Hermione knew better. At least she thought she did. Granted, they had never been especially close, but it still seemed extremely out of character for him even after a war. Even after something so traumatic as losing an ear. And his own twin was freaking out. That was a pretty good indicator, as well, she thought.

George Weasley was missing. It had been 13 days and counting and Hermione was convinced that something was wrong. It just wasn't normal. They needed to be out looking for him. Fred was a mess and obviously had no clue where his other half had gotten off to and yet the Weasleys just sat around, dismissing his disappearance as needing time to adjust to his new impairment. Please. George was just not the type to be so concerned with a physical attribute that he didn't even alert Fred to his whereabouts for this long.

Still, no matter what Fred said, the rest of his family wouldn't listen. Hermione couldn't entirely blame them. She knew the combination of euphoria and grief from the recent battle was enough to make anyone stop seeing things clearly and that was obviously what was happening now. She knew she had to help somehow, but she didn't even know where to begin. She and Fred had a…precarious…relationship, to put it lightly, given her time as a prefect and their time as well, underachieving troublemakers, but she still felt a duty to help him find his brother. The Weasleys were family to her even though things with Ron were never going to work out and she had to do what she could for all of their sakes.

So that was her current situation. Sitting in the kitchen at the Burrow trying to decide how best to approach Fred about helping him find his twin. It was unlike her to be nervous and not completely straightforward, but something about Fred had always made her a little uneasy. He was older than her and extremely confident and they were both qualities that put her on edge. Add in the fact that he was very handsome and incredibly charming and she was pretty much left looking like an idiot after every conversation.

It had to be done though so she bucked up all the courage she could muster and walked over to where he was sitting in the Burrow's living room, mindlessly bouncing a ball back and forth against the wall. Seeing this gave her a bit of courage. She desperately wanted to see the happy-go-lucky Fred back. The one that always had a joke or laugh and seemed carefree no matter the situation.

"F-Fred?"

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked. She tried to ignore the annoyance and tired sound in his voice. He no doubt thought she was there to lecture him for something and she knew it was with good reason.

"I was just hoping I could help you find George," she said quietly, hoping the others in the room wouldn't hear her, but that she could get the proper sincerity across. The last thing she needed was for him to think she wasn't serious.

It did the trick, getting his attention at least. The ball fell to the floor and he continued staring at the wall for a moment before turning to look at her. "Are you serious" he asked. "You believe me?"

She only nodded in response, not wanting to rock the boat or make things worse than they already were. She waited patiently to see what his response might be.

It was heartbreaking to watch, really. His eyes looked a little dull and it broke her heart to see the sparkle that they were so famous for missing from his eyes. When he finally looked up, she knew it was worse than she had even suspected.

He nodded his head slowly. "Thank you," he said, his voice hoarse, likely from not talking much in recent days. It took another moment, but he continued. "Thank you, Hermione. I have to find him. Something isn't right. George would never leave and not tell me."

"I'll help you," she said, sitting down beside him and taking his hand in earnest. "We'll find him. I promise. We'll leave tomorrow."

"Where do we even start?" he asked. "I am his bloody twin and I don't know where to begin."

She smiled softly, hoping even the slightest humor might give him reprieve. "Oh, leave that to me. I am the brightest witch of my age, after all."

Clearly it worked because she swore that just for a moment she saw that old Fred Weasley smirk cross his face. Honestly, despite her original commitment to helping him, it was seeing that smirk that convinced her that she would see this thing through. No matter what happened to George, and she so hoped it was nothing bad, she wouldn't stop until she reconciled him with his twin.

"Let's do this, Granger."

"Right here with you, Weasley," she said with a smile.

* * *

 **I know this first chapter is fairly short, but I'm trying to set the stage for the story. It is a little different than my other two Fremione stories. I hope you will stick with me and let me know what you think. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"You're doing what?" Ginny asked, nearly spitting her drink across the breakfast table.

"I am going to help Fred find George. We're going to try searching a few areas, see if we can follow his last known footsteps…"

"Haven't you considered that he doesn't want to be found?" Ron asked before taking a bite of his porridge. "I mean, the guy lost an ear. It's a lot to deal with for anyone. Maybe he just needs some time to get used to the idea that he's going to look a little weird for the rest of his life."

Hermione smacked Ron on the shoulder. "Ronald Weasley, what a terrible thing to say about your brother! It's a war injury. We all have them. Want to see mine?" She pulled aside her collar to reveal the cuts and bites permanently etched into her skin now thanks to the monster that was Bellatrix Lestrange. "George would never leave without even telling Fred. You, maybe, but not his twin."

"So you, Hermione Granger, are going to go travel around with Fred in search of George?" asked Ginny. "Do you think they are maybe pranking you?"

"How could they be pranking me? I volunteered to help." She was losing patience with them pretty quickly. "None of the rest of you seem to care that your brother, friend, son, whatever, has been missing so somebody has to help him and it looks like that someone is me."

"If we thought something was really wrong," Harry said, "of course we would help, but you have to admit there is no evidence-"

"Except for the fact that he has been missing for nearly two weeks? That's not evidence enough for you?"

"Not really given the circumstances," said Ron. "Mum and Dad don't seem worried. Fred and George are always up to something."

Hermione looked around at all of them as if they were completely mental. She knew that post-traumatic stress could affect people's sense of reality, but this was a little ridiculous. Oh well, she had hoped one last attempt to convince them might be effective, but clearly she and Fred were on their own. Now she just needed to find him so they could be on their way…

Now that she thought of it, she hadn't seen Fred all morning. Surely he hadn't gone missing, too. She wasn't sure if she could handle trying to find both of them. She went up to his room, checking the bathroom along the way, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Mrs. Weasley," she asked, spotting the matronly woman coming up the stairs. "Have you seen Fred?"

"No, dear, but you know how those boys are, always off up to something. I'm sure he'll turn up."

Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration and resisted the urge to scream at the woman who had been so kind as to welcome her into her home over the years. She knew they meant well, but she couldn't understand for the life of her why they were acting so strangely. Her son was missing for Merlin's sake!

Sighing, she went outside to see if Fred had wandered out for a walk or quick ride on his broom before heading out with her, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Grabbing her bag, she decided to head to the only other place she could think to look, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The shop had suffered a lot of damage during the war, but it was still the place that meant the most to the twins, perhaps more than the Burrow in many ways.

She felt her voice catch as she first stepped into Diagon Alley. It was still so damaged from the lively place that she once knew and she made another goal in that moment that once she found George she would help do everything she could to restore it to its original glory. Hogwarts, she knew, had been the main focus of so many so far, but this area clearly needed just as much help.

The creaky sign hanging down sadly from the front of Fred and George's shop did little to improve her mood. No wonder Fred was suffering so much. The two most important things to him- his twin and his shop- were basically gone. The vibrancy and energy that once radiated from this place was all but gone.

She pushed open the dusty door, which fortunately was unlocked with no apparent wards in place, and stepped inside. The damage was worse than she could have imagined and more than likely the empty shelves were largely due to looters. It made her cringe. How could people be so evil?

Her emotions would have to wait, however, as she had a Weasley twin to find. Well, make that two Weasley twins to find at the current moment. "Fred?" she called out, lowly at first, but increasing in volume as she realized it was unlikely he could hear her almost whispers.

Receiving no response, she pushed her way back to their storage room/work station. It, too, was in disarray, but she could see the beginnings of where someone had started trying to repair it. Sitting on a stool, over a boiling cauldron, sat Fred, still apparently unaware of her presence.

"Fred?" she asked again, not wanting to frighten or interrupt him, but feeling at some point they were just going to have to get on with it.

He turned around finally, his eyes redder than before and Hermione really couldn't decide what her next move should be. "Fred?" she eventually said again. "I was thinking maybe we could get going this morning?"

He nodded, still not actually speaking. He got up slowly from his spot over the cauldron and lazily vanished the contents away. For some reason this gesture hit Hermione the hardest as it seemed so much like he had completely given up.

She walked over and touched his arm, turning him and forcing him to look at her. "We are going to find him, Fred. Do you hear me? We will find him."

He just stared at her numbly for a moment, but finally a bit of the spark she had seen the evening before began to return again. "Problem is; I don't really know where to start looking 'Mione. The shop, the Burrow? Where else would George be after this much time?"

"Well, we'll start by looking for clues here. Maybe there is something somewhere to give us an indication of what might have happened. How's that sound?"

"Do you really think we'll find something?" he asked hopefully, but a doubtful expression still lingering across his face.

"We can't find it until we look," she said brightly. "Now, let's get started."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hermione knew that Fred was getting frustrated and if she was honest with herself, she was, too. They had gone through every paper, box, and prank in Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and still found no clue to George's possible whereabouts. She was scouring her brain trying to think of anything that might help.

"Was George dating anyone when he disappeared?" she asked suddenly. It felt like such an obvious first question that she was a little annoyed that she didn't think of it sooner.

"He had been seeing Angelina a little here and there. I don't think it was that serious."

"Have you asked her if she has heard from him? Or maybe she knows something at least."

"George wouldn't tell her something that he wouldn't tell me."

"Fred, I know I don't have a ton of experience with guys, but I think I know enough to know that girls can get guys to tell them just about anything in the right situation."

She could see the smirk growing on Fred's face and though she was grateful to see that side of him starting to come out she could feel the blush heating up her own cheeks at the same time.

Sure enough, it only took a moment for him to make her face an even deeper red. "And what situation might that be, Granger?" he asked.

"Never mind that," she mumbled, trying to regain her composure. "I just think we should talk to Angelina."

"Fine, whatever. Let's go see her." He started to take her arm to apparate.

"Fred! We can't just show up in her living room. That's not polite."

"I wasn't planning on it, Granger. I do know how to apparate outside her door and knock. Is that how little you think of me? That I just pop into people's houses and have no respect for personal space? I mean, I was raised by Molly Weasley after all."

Well, that was embarrassing. "Of course not, Fred. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

He grabbed her arm, disapparating immediately and landing just outside the door to Angelina's flat. "I was only joking. I did consider for a moment just popping inside."

She tried her best to look annoyed, but his infectious grin kept her from being able to remain too serious. She slapped his arm playfully instead and then turned to knock on the door. "Hopefully she's home. Does she have a roommate; do you know?"

He nodded. "Katie Bell."

They waited rather impatiently for someone to answer the door when it finally swung open to reveal a rather haggard looking Alicia Spinnet.

"Oh, hi," is all she said as a greeting. Hermione had never known the older girl well, but she knew enough to know that she wasn't usually so distressed and unfriendly.

"Is something wrong, Alicia?"

"Um, well, maybe…that is, I don't know?" She kept looking behind her as if she was nervous about something.

"Alicia, what's going on?" Fred asked much more straightforwardly.

"Well, Katie's acting a little strangely," she said, obviously trying to be delicate with her wording, "and Angelina's not here."

"How long has Angelina been gone?" Hermione asked immediately, ignoring the part about Katie for the time being.

"Um, about two weeks, I think," she said before being interrupted by a strange sound. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go now." She started closing the door before Fred blocked it with his foot.

"What's going on, Alicia?" he asked, this time even more intensely.

She finally sighed, opening the door and allowing them to enter.

They looked around cautiously at first, but everything seemed perfectly normal. That is, until they found Katie in the living room. She was laying on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, and in addition to being extremely pale, she looked generally unwell. She was also shivering and appeared to be in desperate need of a healer.

"What's wrong with her?" Fred asked in his usual cut to the chase manner.

"I don't know. She just started acting this way. She will barely eat and only talks to mumble something- the same thing over and over."

"Has she seen a healer?" Hermione asked. "We can help you take her to St. Mungo's."

"Oh, we've been there. They have no idea what's wrong with her. Said it was probably just post-traumatic stress from the war."

"But you don't think so?"

"No way. Katie was fine and then randomly one day a couple of weeks ago she starts acting like this. Wouldn't post-traumatic stress develop a little more slowly than that? Maybe not, I don't know, but my gut tells me that is not what this is. Especially with Angelina missing."

"Have you told anyone about that?" Fred asked.

"Well, no," Alicia said, a clearly little embarrassed at that admission. "I didn't know if she was just off with her parents or even your brother. I was already making such a big deal about Katie."

"Alicia," Hermione said gently, "George is missing, too."

"What?" the other girl looked shocked. "You don't know where he is?" she asked Fred. It was obvious from her expression that this bit of news had completely changed everything in her mind.

"No, I haven't seen him in two weeks." The look of alarm on Fred's face was growing as well and Hermione had to admit that the situation was looking a lot direr than she had first believed.

"So the same amount of time as everything with Katie and Angelina." Alicia sat down slowly on the couch, obviously trying to process this new information. "So I'm not crazy? Something is really wrong?"

"It sure looks like it now," Hermione said. "We need you to tell us everything. You mentioned she keeps mumbling something? What is she saying?"

Alicia looked slowly back and forth between Fred and Hermione. "She just keeps saying that he's back."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I really, really would love to hear what you think so far...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay, my town got hit pretty hard with flooding from Hurricane Matthew. I'm back now and look forward to continuing this story. I'm really excited in the direction it is headed. It is different from my other Fremione stories. :) Please let me know what you think.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"He's back?" Fred asked. "Who's back?"

"Has she given any indication as to who she is referring to?" Hermione asked Alicia. "Or said anything else?"

Alicia shook her head. "No, nothing. I can't get her to say anything else at all."

Hermione walked over and knelt down next to the disturbed girl. "Katie," she said gently. "It's Hermione Granger. Do you remember me?"

She waited for any indication that the other girl understood her, but finding none, she continued anyway. "Katie, we want to help you and we need to find Fred and Angelina. Can you help us?"

Katie continued staring off into the distance and Fred was growing more and more frustrated by the minute.

"Katie!" he shouted, getting right in the girl's face and grabbing her shoulders. "Katie, snap out of it. Tell us what is going on."

"Fred, that is not helping," Hermione said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from her. "She's not going to answer."

"Well, then what do you suggest we do now, Granger? Katie is sitting there like a wet mop, Alicia is completely useless, and yet George and Angelina are still missing."

"Hey, I resent that," Alicia said, standing up defensively.

"Well, you've known about this for two weeks, didn't bother to tell anyone, can't give us any helpful information…"

"I did try to help Katie. Just because I didn't tell _you_ doesn't mean I wasn't doing anything."

"STOP. IT. Both of you," Hermione ordered, her voice shouting over her two bickering friends. "Arguing isn't helping anyone. And Fred, stop being so insensitive."

"Yes, ma'am," he said sarcastically, but quieted down nonetheless and plopped down on the couch with an elaborate sigh. "Well, what now then, brightest witch of her age?"

Choosing to ignore his snarkiness, she sat down to think. "Alicia, what do you remember about that day? Every detail. Don't leave anything out."

"Yeah, do enlighten us," Fred said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice, but said nothing else after a glare from Hermione.

"Well," Alicia began, her face looking down towards her hands that she was subconsciously rubbing together, "not a lot, honestly. I came over to meet Angelina and Katie so we could head to lunch and when I got here Angelina bailed on us."

"What do you mean?"

"She was acting pretty strangely, kind of zombie like to be honest, like her mind was somewhere else. She told us she had to go meet George. It was unusual for Angelina to ditch us for a guy, but we figured they had a fight or something and that was why she was being so weird."

"Did she say where she was going?" Hermione asked, the bad feeling deep in her stomach growing stronger the longer the other girl talked.

"She mentioned the shop..." Both girls turned to look at Fred. His eyes widening in surprise as the attention shifted to his own memories of that day.

"Well, I don't know, George was at the shop every day," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Until he wasn't any more, I mean."

"Fred, think back," urged Hermione, "to the last day you saw George. Did you see Angelina? Was it at the shop? Did they say anything that seemed odd to you?"

"Give a man a moment to think, woman. I didn't know anything was wrong at the time, did I? So it doesn't exactly stand out."

"You have to try to remember. It may be the only clue we have to George and Angelina's whereabouts."

"Well, it was a Tuesday, I know that, because George wasn't there to help me when the new stock arrived on Wednesday. That was when I first started to grow suspicious. Let's see I always go to Fortescue's for lunch on Tuesday-"

"You eat ice cream for lunch every Tuesday?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes, it's how I keep my girlish figure. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to think."

"Wait, yes," Fred nodded. "I do remember something. Angelina came by, which wasn't unusual, mind you, but what was weird was that George asked for the afternoon off so they could go to lunch in Muggle London."

"I take it they didn't normally do that?" asked Hermione.

"No, George never went to _that_ part of town. Why would he? Oh, stop giving me that look Granger. You know I have nothing against muggles, but we have everything we need in the wizarding world."

"Okay, then," Hermione said, her expression softening a little, "I guess that's a start. Alicia, did you still go to lunch with Katie that day?"

"Yes," the other girl said, a look of panic growing on her face as she started swaying back and forth nervously glancing back and forth between them and Katie.

"What, what is it, Alicia? Are you remembering something?"

The other girl slowly nodded her head. "Yes, I went to lunch with Katie that day. In Muggle London."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"So something is going on with your family and Katie, plus George and Angelina are missing and the only connection we can find is Muggle London?" Hermione asked, clearly perplexed as she paced the room. "Do you have any idea if any of the rest of your family visited Muggle London recently?"

Fred shook his head, but then paused suddenly, "You know, I think maybe they did. Mum was talking about looking for dresses for Harry and Ginny's wedding and said something about venturing out a little further than they intended."

"Ah!" Hermione shouted, scaring the others. "Don't you see? That proves it now. There has to be a connection between something in Muggle London and what is going on. But what?" She sat down, trying to force herself to think of a possible link.

"Why don't we just go there then?" Fred asked.

"Do you have any idea how big Muggle London is?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "We could spend years searching there and turn up nothing."

"We're wizards, Granger," Fred said, rolling his eyes.

"But we have no idea where to start," she protested.

"Maybe I can help with that," Alicia said slowly. "I found this when I first found Katie like this. It was in her hand. It didn't appear to be from our world so I hung onto it. Maybe it is a muggle clue?"

"It's a receipt," Hermione cried, snatching it from the other girl's hand. "From a Muggle restaurant I'm certain. I recognize this street. We have to go now," she said, grabbing Fred's arm.

"And what about her?" Fred asked, nodding at Alicia. "How do we know she isn't withholding more information?"

"I wasn't with-"

"Fred," Hermione warned. "This is a huge clue. We need to check it out. Wizards, remember? We can just apparate back if we need to ask any more questions."

"Fine, but I think she is hiding something." He gave Alicia a reproachful look as he followed Hermione out the door.

"Look," Hermione hissed after the door had closed behind them. "I know something weird is going on and honestly I'm not sure who to trust, but we knew Alicia in school and we might as well give her some benefit of the doubt. She was your friend at one time, right?"

"Teammate, Granger. Teammate. And Draco Malfoy played Quidditch. Do you want to go ask his advice?"

"We have no other leads right now. So are you with me or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm with you." With that, he grabbed her arm and disappeared.

* * *

"Doesn't look like much," Fred said, surveying the outside of the building. It was an old building, that was obvious, and the amount of care given to it over the years was definitely lacking. A sign hung by one side, swinging ever so slightly with the light breeze available. The old, rickety sound reminded Hermione of something from one of the westerns her father made her watch as a child.

"Yes, well, it's muggle, isn't it? It won't have the fancy magic that the stores on Diagon Alley have."

"Shame," Fred said as he pushed open the dusty door, which one again screeched as it opened just as Hermione feared it might.

"Quiet, Fred," she hissed, "we don't want to announce our presence to everyone."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Granger," he said, nodding at the friendly looking group of people standing at what must be the greeter's podium.

"Table for two?" the girl smiled brightly as she glanced back and forth between them.

"Um, sure," Hermione said, following the girl rather blindly as she found it difficult to even survey her surroundings as she might would normally.

"Is it just me or does this place seem to dull the senses or something?" Hermione asked Fred after they were alone in their booth. "I feel like I can't form a coherent thought."

"Yeah, I thought it was the firewhiskey I downed at Angelina's, but maybe it's something else." He rubbed his eyes in frustration.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but chose to ignore his comment. Looking around, she tried her best to take in every detail despite the fog that seemed to be attempting to cloud her consciousness.

"Fred," she whispered, "look at that guy at the bar. No, don't be that obvious! Yes, the one that keeps staring at us. Why do you think he is doing that?"

"I have no idea. What do you think is good? They have fish and chips and a shepherd's pie that doesn't look bad-"

"Oh, Merlin's beard, will you focus, please? Now is not the time to eat."

"Sorry, Weasley stomach, always, time to eat. Now the shepherd's pie or one of the pasties?"

"You are completely impossible; you know that? Fine. Order the fish and chips, with a side of ketchup and mayo."

Fred's eyebrows raised in interest.

"I like to mix the two…never mind," she said, waving her hand in attempts to change the subject. Let's just order and try to act normal while I figure out what is going on."

"While _you_ figure it out? Mighty presumptuous of you, I'd say. I'm not exactly known for being an idiot, Granger. Actually, if George and I had actually applied ourselves I'm sure our grades would have been far better-"

He was interrupted by a swift kick to the shins by Hermione. Sure enough, the same man that had been staring at them previously was making his way over to their table. Maybe he was just the waiter, but he certainly didn't look at all happy to see them.

"Order?" he growled at them as he drew closer, pen and paper in hand.

"Um, I'll have the fish and chips, mayo and ketchup on the side, please. I think the lady and I will share if that's alright."

"Fine," he said and stomped off, clearly either their mere presence really annoyed him or he had been having a really bad day.

"Nice place," Fred smirked. "Are all muggles so friendly?"

"Don't use that word in here. And no, I'm afraid not everyone is quite as charming as that fellow."

"So I was right? That was weird?" Fred looked around again, as if he was trying to catch someone in the act of something suspicious.

"Yes, that was weird," Hermione agreed. She continued looking around, hoping to spot something that would give them an idea of what happened to George and Angelina.

"It appears to be a pretty typical muggle pub," she said finally. "I wish I knew what we were looking for."

"I don't know. If this is your typical muggle place, then I'm seriously glad I'm a wizard."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in all muggle joints do they hate us so much?"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked looking around in alarm.

"Check that out," Fred said, gesturing with his fork towards a sign that Hermione had somehow missed in her previous examination of the room.

Hermione read the sign slowly, a sinking feeling growing within her as she took in the words.

"The magic stops here."

* * *

 **What happens next? Any idea? I would love to hear what you think. :) Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"That couldn't possibly be referring to us?" Hermione asked, the alarm in her voice evident as she looked quickly around for anything else out of the ordinary.

"You're aware of some other form of magic?" said Fred.

"Ssssh…keep your voice down. Well, no, but I didn't know about any magic at all until I got my Hogwarts letter."

"Well, it seems like a mighty big coincidence don't you think? Everything pointing us in this direction and then a sign like that?"

"It's certainly suspicious." Hermione sighed, looking around the room with growing concern.

The man from before returned with their food. He was probably in his mid-thirties, a modest beard that was slightly graying despite his relative youth. The most striking thing about him, however, was his piercing green eyes. Eyes that were currently trained directly on Hermione.

"Your food," he said gruffly before setting the tray down on the table with a thud.

"Thank you," Hermione said politely, setting her napkin in her lap and preparing to enjoy her food.

"But we didn't get-"

"That's all, thanks!" Hermione interrupted him. She smiled up at the man, hoping he would go away, but he continued to stand there, eyes not moving. She was fairly certain he hadn't even blinked.

"The lady _said_ that will be all," Fred reiterated. His glare mimicked the other man's a little too closely in Hermione's opinion, but she still felt grateful for his interference as it seemed to do the trick. The man walked away without another word.

"This food be pretty damn good because this place gives me the creeps. Worse than Knockturn Alley."

"Fred, don't eat that," Hermione cried, batting the chip out of his hand.

The red-headed twin stared at her for a moment in shock. "Did you just take food from a Weasley?"

"I don't know if it is safe to eat," she whispered. "You're welcome."

"I'll risk it, I'm starving."

"Fred, I'm serious. Think about the information we have. George and Angelina went missing here, Katie went...well, something is wrong with Katie after coming here, and then the sign and how creepy that guy is acting. Do you really think it is a good idea to eat something they gave you? You, a Weasley twin? You would eat something without knowing what is in it? I'm a little surprised in you to be perfectly honest."

Fred couldn't help but smirk as he watched the fiery brunette in front of him boss him around just as she had back at Hogwarts. The only difference was now she was no young school girl, she was a grown woman. And not a bad looking one at that, he thought appreciatively.

"Okay, okay, Granger. I won't eat the food. What do you suggest we do though? Actually, I have an idea." He made a slight movement under the table which Hermione realized must be his wand, but before she could protest he had obviously already performed some sort of silent spell."

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You just performed a spell."

"I did."

"And you didn't speak."

"Well, no, that's what a silent spell is, Granger."

"I didn't know you could do that."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," he said with a wink.

"Well, are you going to tell me what you did?"

"You mean you don't know?" He grinned at her, clearly pleased to know something that she didn't.

She crossed her arms in frustration. "Obviously not, it was silent."

"Oh, I assumed the brightest witch of her age would know anyway."

"You know what they say happens when you assume," she said without missing a beat.

Fred grinned again, enjoying the banter between them. "I just checked to see if there was magic here, other than us, I mean."

"And?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely not the only magical folk here. You might say we are surrounded."

This information immediately led Hermione's mind towards a lot of troubling thoughts that she was not yet prepared to process. All she knew was that level of magic in a muggle restaurant couldn't be a good thing and they needed to leave before they suffered the same fate as the others.

She threw some muggle money down on the counter and quickly grabbed Fred's hand, pulling him after her.

"What are you doing, woman?" he cried, rubbing his arm after they were safely back in the street.

"Don't you see? That much magic in one spot in Muggle London?"

"Evidently not?"

"That's unheard of, Fred. Witches and wizards don't frequent Muggle London, especially not to all congregate in one spot. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but they are pretty widely known throughout our world. This is definitely not one of them."

"How can you be sure?"

She rolled her eyes at him and began walking quickly away from the building in question causing Fred to have to rush to catch up with her.

"Because, Frederick, I read occasionally. The latest list of muggle/magical co-dwellings is always kept up-to-date in The Daily Prophet."

"Maybe some of that got mixed up during the war?"

"Not likely. Now, keep up, we have to find some place safe."

"Where are you taking us?"

"My parents' dental office," she said firmly. "It'll be empty as they are still living their own life in Australia and now that Voldemort is gone it is likely to be safe."

"Your parents' what?"

"Really, Fred, did you ever pay attention to anything about me growing up? My parents, muggles, they are dentists…they clean teeth?"

"Ah, I think I remember something about that now. So this teeth place, we can trust it?"

"As much as we can trust anything right now, I'm afraid," Hermione answered, her lips closing in a tight line. "I really don't know what is safe anymore. And here I thought those days were behind us."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"This place is creeeepy," Fred observed, whistling under his breath at the different dental equipment and sets of fake teeth that filled Hermione's parents' office. "No wonder muggles hate the dentist."

"If they brush and floss regularly they really shouldn't have any reason to be afraid of the dentist," Hermione argued before finally caving in, "yeah, I don't like it either. Imagine the other side though, I wouldn't want my hands in other people's mouths all day either."

"Surely you don't still let them do that to you?" Fred asked, looking horrified. "You know we have spells for that?"

"Of course I know that _now_ , but I wasn't always privy to such information, now was I? Some of us didn't grow up in a house full of witches and wizards. My parents took care of my teeth the best way they knew how."

"That must have been so strange. I mean, I've thought about it before, of course, what it must be like for muggle borns, but to actually live that…I think it would be really…tough."

"Why Fred Weasley you aren't actually developing some sort of sympathy for others now, are you?" Hermione teased. "Don't you have a reputation to uphold?"

"I think our reputation is pretty solidly set at this point," he answered smugly before his expression once again turned grim.

"Right, George," Hermione said, sensing the reason for his sudden change of demeanor. "Well, there was definitely something not right about that pub."

"Yeah, but what? They can do magic, but they don't like magic? I mean, how can anyone not like magic?"

"There are probably quite a few muggles out there that wouldn't be huge fans," Hermione said thoughtfully, "If they knew about it that is."

"Yeah, but they wouldn't be able to do magic, would they? So why do these people hate magic and what does that have to do with George and the others?"

"There are definitely people out there that know about magic and don't like it. Think about Harry's aunt and uncle. But you're right, they can't do magic for themselves. Alicia said "he's back" but that doesn't really make any sense either. Who's back? Voldemort? He is almost certainly really dead this time, but even if it were some of his followers they wanted the exact opposite of this- pureblood magic, not no magic at all."

"We'll have to go back to the pub again. See if we can get anybody to talk."

"I'm not sure about that, Fred. Those people obviously didn't like us. I'm not sure we'll be as fortunate next time."

"Really, Granger, are you a witch or not? We don't have to be ourselves." He grinned wickedly before pulling out a couple of small vials from his robes.

"Polyjuice potion? And you're just carrying around in your pocket? Where did you get that? Are you mad?" Hermione looked horrified at the idea of him carrying around who knows what kind of potions on his person at any given time. It's a wonder he hadn't blown something up. Okay, blown something bigger up.

"Nope, but you'll find I'm often quite prepared for most any situation. A quality I thought you of all people would appreciate. Would you prefer to question where it came from or spend months brewing some more?"

"And who do you propose we turn into then?"

"Well, I'm sure there is something from your parents around here we could use…" He started opening drawers, in search of who knows what, ignoring her protests.

"You want us to turn into my parents?" She shook her head vehemently. "No way. Not happening."

"You have a better idea? It's perfect actually. Your parents are still off in Australia so after we turn back into ourselves it's not like they will be able to find them again."

"I don't know…." Hermione pulled her fingers through her hair as she often did when she was stressed, resulting in it being even more unruly than usual. "Putting my parents' life in danger, our lives in danger, I don't like it.

"Well, I'm open to other suggestions, but could you think quickly? I'd like to find my twin before anyone else disappears."

"I guess you're right," she said with a sigh. "No time like the present I suppose." She found her parents' lab coats and scoured them meticulously hoping that any hairs she might find were definitely theirs, or at the very least, human." She shuddered as she remembered her previous experiences with polyjuice potion. The cat was horrible enough, but Bellatrix Lestrange was honestly not much better. This should be a breeze compared to that.

"It's not going to taste very good," she warned Fred as they prepared to drink.

" _I_ know that, but how do _you_ know that?" the redhead asked giving her a curious look.

"This is not my first time, Fred. And the stuff really is atrocious." She made a sour face before downing the contents in one swift gulp.

"You have a lot of secrets, Granger. I like that in a woman." He winked at her before his face began morphing into a very familiar one. It was the face of her father and seeing it sent a twinge of pain and regret through her body.

"You'll see them again, Hermione. I promise. You're helping me look for George. I will help you look for them."

The sincerity in his voice and use of her first name surprised her and she just stared at him for a moment. She had spent quite a bit of time with Fred over the past few days and she was beginning to see a side of him that she hadn't realized was there. It was a side that she really liked.

"You're a lot nicer than people give you credit for, you know," she observed.

"Ssssh, don't tell the world. Reputation to uphold." He took a deep breath, looking her up and down as she now completely had taken on the form of her mother. "Hey, your Mum's not a bad looking woman, Granger. There's hope for you yet." He laughed and dodged to annoy the inevitable slap on the arm that he knew was coming.

"Alright, are you ready for this?" she asked, choosing not to respond further. After a slight nod, she grabbed his hand and they disapparated.

* * *

 **Please let me know what you think! I would really appreciate it. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for reading! I would love to hear what you think. :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

They stepped out of the dental office into the muggle street dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Granger, which was far more uncomfortable than Hermione could have ever even imagined. The whole experience was more than a little creepy for her and she couldn't wait for it to be over.

"That guy that couldn't stop staring at you at the pub," Fred said, "I think he is our key."

"I don't know…maybe. It happens a lot since the war."

"No, it wasn't that. There was more."

"Well, I doubt it was my pesky feminine wiles, Fred," Hermione said while rolling her eyes, then nearly tripping, unused to walking in her mother's strange pumps. "It was probably because he could tell we weren't muggles either."

"Feminine wiles? Really, Granger?" Fred asked laughing.

"Yes, it means when-"

"I know what feminine wiles are, I am just curious why you are using such a term and why you think you don't have them?"

"Never really have had any reason to think otherwise, have I? Didn't ever really work on Ron or any of the other boys at Hogwarts." She tried her best not to blush or look embarrassed in any way, her face looking straight ahead, refusing to look at him.

"Oh, it worked, alright."

That didn't help. The blush began to deepen. "Then why didn't I date the entire time I was there?"

"Well, first of all, I remember the Viktor Krum fiasco of what was it, my sixth year, quite well. And then there was Ron, of course-"

"Oh, whatever, Ron didn't even notice I was a girl until years after we met. In fact, he seemed to find it something of a shock."

"What about Victor, then, the greatest seeker in the WORLD!" he said with extreme flair and exaggeration.

"Viktor liked me because I didn't chase him around like a groupie like most of the other girls at Hogwarts, or Beauxbatons, for that matter."

"Oh, I suspect there was a little more to it than that, Granger," but he didn't elaborate for they had reached the pub. The rickety sign and dusty exterior looked even more intimidating somehow. They stood outside for a moment, neither quite willing to take the first step.

"You know they will know we aren't really muggles?" Hermione asked.

"Well, probably, but there is a chance that they just recognized you as part of the Golden Trio before, but either way, definitely be on guard."

She wasn't sure why she did it, but for some reason, at that moment, Hermione took Fred's hand into hers and squeezed it, smiling up at him confidently. It was such a simple gesture, one that she had seen occur hundreds of times between her parents. Perhaps, that was the reason, she tried to convince herself. She was pretending to be her parents so it wasn't surprising that she would begin to act like them. Somehow, deep down, however, she knew that wasn't true.

"Well, shall we?" she asked before she had a chance to dwell on those thoughts any further.

Fred just nodded in agreement and they walked together hand in hand, each hoping that they looked like a real couple, neither wanting to acknowledge the real reason for that hope.

At first glance it looked the same as it had before, empty except for a few tables, same smiling group of hostesses, but the friendly vibe they had experienced previously was definitely missing. Even as they were showed to their table, there seemed to be an almost buzzing in the atmosphere that Hermione could tell had Fred extremely on edge.

"What?" she whispered to him as they were seated and, for the moment, alone.

"Can you feel that?" he asked, looking around in alarm.

"Yes," she replied. "It feels like the room is humming with electricity."

"With what?"

"Electricity," she hissed. "Surely you know what electricity is…you know what, never mind. What do you think it is?"

"I've only experienced it one other time," he said, kind of in a daze. "George and I were experimenting with that spell I showed you the other day, actually."

"And?"

"And it's not a good sign, Granger."

"Why not?"

"Because it means someone is trying to drain this room of magic."

"What?" she cried, a little too loudly as Fred tried to shush her, even kicking her gently under the table to try to help her regain her senses. "We have to leave," she said, attempting to stand.

"We can't leave," Fred said firmly. "We know now that something definitely happened to George and Angelina here. We can't just leave."

"Yes, but we could be better prepared than pretending to be my parents. We can research what it means-"

"Hermione, with all due respect, I appreciate research as much as the next guy. Yeah, don't act surprised, how do you think George and I come up with all our products? But in this case, I'm not really sure what book you think you are going to find out why that guy is staring at you again with the same creepy expression."

"Oh, Merlin's beard," Hermione said, whipping her head around quickly to see the man from the previous day staring at her as if he could see right through the polyjuice. "Well, what do you suggest then? We just march up and ask him what his problem is?"

"No, I think we order and let things play out unlike yesterday. Just be prepared and don't lose focus for even a moment."

Hermione nodded, discreetly clutching her wand inside her bag under the table, hoping with everything she had that Fred somehow had easy access to his own. She sat pretending to stare at the menu while trying with great difficulty to remain in control of all her mental faculties.

Not a moment later the same man with the piercing green eyes and prematurely graying beard was standing over her.

"We need to talk," he said, dropping a card on the table and walking away in such an eerie manner that Hermione half expected him to have a limp or some other strange gait, but he didn't, he just walked away as easily as he had arrived.

"It's just an address," Fred said. "I guess we are supposed to just show up with no clue as to what is going on?"

"That seems to be the expectation, yes," Hermione agreed.

"Well?"

"Well, let's find out what is happening at 107 Wingfield Avenue," Hermione said with far more confidence than she felt. Every part of her screamed it was a trap, but she knew it was the only way to find out what happened to George.

"It'll be fine," she said with a convincing smile. "I've been in far worse situations than this and if I can get Harry and Ron out of these messes I'm sure I can help someone with half a brain."

"Good point," Fred grinned, taking her arm in his and for what seemed like the millionth time since their ordeal had started he said, "Let's do this, Granger."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Wingfield Avenue, as it turned out, was not far away at all from their current location so they chose to walk and despite the fact that Hermione thought they should really be forming some sort of plan, they continued on in silence.

They arrived to find a perfectly normal looking street, lined with perfectly normal looking houses, that gave off no real sinister appearance at all- far in contrast from their experience at the pub. Hermione couldn't help but think of Harry's former home on Privet Drive and what unpleasant things had been lurking behind the Dursley's perfectly normal looking home.

"Well, it looks like it is that one," Fred said pointing at one of the houses that seemed nearly identical to every other one on the street.

They made their way up the walk and to Hermione's surprise Fred walked up and knocked on the door without the slightest hesitation.

"Might as well get on with it" he said with a shrug after seeing her reaction.

"Well, okay, then," she said, gripping her wand even more tightly than before.

It only took a moment before the door swung open and a pale, thin woman with black stringy hair and a particularly pointed nose greeted them. "Oh," she said, not seeming at all surprised to see them, "you must be the newbies. Go on in, everyone's just there in the living room." She gestured behind her and turned around without another word, clearly expecting them to find their own way.

The house had an odd smell that reminded Hermione a bit of Grimmauld Place, but other than that seemed safe enough. She could practically hear Fred doing those silent spells of his even though she knew he hadn't made a sound. He hadn't flinched or tensed up so far so she continued to follow him hoping he knew what he was doing.

They entered the room to find a group of chairs arranged in a circle around a surprisingly large room, which she suspected had been enhanced by magic. Most of the chairs were occupied, but she and Fred sat down in a couple of empty seats near the door. They said nothing, hoping someone would eventually speak and enlighten them to what sort of situation they had stumbled upon.

It didn't take long for a young man, likely in his early twenties, prematurely balding, but still quite handsome, to stand and begin to speak. "So, we all know why we are here," he began, causing Fred and Hermione to share confused glances, but they continued to listen attentively, "the question is," he continued, "is what is the next step?"

"We have to take action," another young man said. "We have waited long enough. The enchanters must be stopped. They are regaining strength quickly. The time to attack is while they are still recovering from their war."

"And you really think that we can convince Hermione Granger to join our cause?" a woman asked. "She is the one who helped stop the Dark Lord, after all."

Hermione and Fred both started at the mention of Hermione's name, both having forgotten that to the outside world they still appeared as Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Fred could sense the tension rising in Hermione and took her hand again in an attempt to calm her.

"I think there is a good chance. Think about it, she has basically lost her parents due to this war, and from what I have always heard she has a huge heart for other magical creatures, unlike most of the other enchanters."

"But she is one of the brightest witches of our time. Surely she wouldn't want to give that up?"

"I think she would if it meant everyone got a fair chance in this world. Not just a bunch of people who happened to be born "special" as they like to call it," another man said, seeming to have difficulty getting out the word special. "Like you said she has always had a huge heart."

"But she's Harry Potter's best friend!" the woman argued. "The savior of their world. You really think she would help us destroy it now?"

"I think she isn't dumb enough to continue watching us poisoning her loved ones. You know she was in the pub the other day? She has figured out something is going on already with her beloved Weasleys."

Hermione could feel Fred's temper rising at the mention of his family and she, in turn, squeezed his hand hoping he would be able to keep himself under control. To blow their cover now would be detrimental to their cause and likely never allow them to find George. She hoped more than anything their polyjuice would last long enough for them to take another dose before they were exposed.

"Well, what do you two think?" the man turned to Fred and Hermione unexpectedly and they sat staring blankly at them as the entire room turned their attention to them.

"Um, well," Fred began before Hermione interrupted him.

"I think she would do it!" she exclaimed. "I met her once and you are right, she definitely cares about equality for everyone." She tried to sound as confident as possible knowing that she was likely confusing Fred even as the words left her mouth.

"So the question is, how do we get her here? And what do we do if she says no?" the woman who answered the door asked.

"I can probably get her here," Hermione offered. "I mean, I don't know her well, but she would recognize me I'm sure of it."

"Good," the woman replied. "And what of any _complications_?"

"There won't be any complications," the handsome, balding man answered in a tone that caused a chill to run through Hermione's spine. "I'll see to that."

"Alright, then," the woman said, "meeting dismissed. "Let's say 7:00 on Tuesday? That will give you time to get Miss Granger here?"

"Oh, um, yes, it should," Hermione asked, realizing the question was being directed at her. "7 on Tuesday."

"Perfect. See you then," she said as she began discussing something with another member of whatever weird cult they had stumbled into.

Fred quickly grabbed Hermione's arm and pushed her out the door. It was just in time as she could see the red starting to show through in his hair and knew the effects of the polyjuice potion were wearing off. They apparated quickly out of view before taking deep breaths and attempting to process everything they just heard.

"I'm sorry," Hermione began, "I had to-"

"I know why you did it," Fred said, "the question is who are those people and what the bloody hell is going on back there?"

"I don't know, but that's what I intend to find out."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

They made it back to the dental office unscathed.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Fred asked as soon as they were safely inside the doors, wards put into place. "We can't just serve you up to these people."

"You heard them. They don't want to hurt me. They want me to help them."

Fred stared at her incredulously. "By poisoning my family? By destroying our world? Bloody hell, Hermione, I thought we were done with all of this."

"I know," she said, taking a deep breath to try to calm her increasing nerves at seeing Fred's reaction, "but how else are we going to get them to trust us? We have to find out what is going on if we are going to find George."

Fred sat down in one of the dental chairs, accidentally hitting a button causing the back to begin to move back, clearly startling him. It was a sight that Hermione may have found comical if it weren't for the tense situation.

"If they are magic," he asked, "why do they want to destroy our world? Is it some other form of magic we don't know about? They did keep referring to us as enchanters, which isn't a term I commonly hear. Maybe they are like another breed or something."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know, but don't we owe it to your twin to find out?"

"Yes, I have to find George, but we can find another way. I have already asked enough of you."

"I've already been asked far more. Maybe this is my calling, constantly fighting the people out to destroy the people I care about."

Fred looked up angrily. Oh, geez…"

"What?

"I just realized I'm no better than my git of a brother and Harry, always putting you in harm's way and excepting you to get them out of it. "You deserve more than that. You deserve happiness, Hermione. Settle down. Start a family. In peace, not having to always look over your shoulder."

"Who am I going to start a family with, Fred? I am single. If anyone needs to be fighting it is me. No relationship, no parents, siblings…nothing tying me down. Nobody left behind if something happens." She swallowed to keep the tears that she knew would come if she let them. Now was not the time for pity parties.

"You know that's not true," he said softly.

"Isn't it? Everyone else is settling down: Harry and Ginny, Ron and Lavender, hell, George and Angelina when we find them. The Weasleys are special, but I am not really a Weasley. I am on my own."

"You know you are as much a part of our family as I am," he said, standing up and coming closer to her. He leaned forward and gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Taking both of her arms in his he looked at her sternly, studying her face for a moment. "You don't have to have red hair to be a Weasley, Hermione. You're family. More than me, probably… Mum did always seem to think of George and I more as neighbors." He grinned at her, before succumbing once again to the sadness brought on at the mention of his twin's current predicament.

"It's not the same, Fred. Yes, I am comfortable with you and your family has been nothing but wonderful to me since the moment I started at Hogwarts, but it's different now. Everyone is paired off, getting married, engaged, and I suppose that would leave me as the crazy aunt? Oh, Merlin," she groaned, her face in her hands, "I even have a cat."

"I'm not paired off."

Hermione stared at him in shock before rolling her eyes. " _You_ are always paired off."

"What?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised. "When?"

"Every girl at Hogwarts loved you and George. Especially you. You were the playboys. Please don't pretend like you didn't know that."

"Well, that was at Hogwarts, Granger. I haven't been to Hogwarts in… well, it's been a few years now."

"And the rich, successful businessmen have a hard time finding dates, do they?" she teased.

"Harder than you'd think. I'm not the person I was at Hogwarts. Yes, we still sell jokes for a living, but there is a little more to me than that, too."

"I think I know what you mean. There's a little more to me than the prudish little bookworm, as well."

"Well, here's to no more stereotypes then, okay? Let's just focus on finding George."

"Which leads us back to where we started. I have to go in there. You can go with me if you are so worried about it."

"Right, because they are going to let a Weasley in there. Weren't we just discussing the red hair thing?"

Hermione just shook her head and smiled, holding up another vial of polyjuice potion. "Who says you have to be a Weasley?"

Fred grinned as he caught up to her thinking. "So who am I playing? Please not your Dad again, besides being a little uncomfortable, did you realize he had an arthritic knee? Made running a real bitch last night."

"No, I think you need to be someone even more unrecognizable. Maybe even my boyfriend. You would need to be really close to me if they are going to be willing to let you in."

"Wouldn't people know if a member of the Golden trio had a secret boyfriend?"

"Maybe not if I have been keeping him in hiding. And if he was a muggle."

"What? No way! How am I going to protect you if I can't use magic? And these people can sense magic anyway. No way. Not happening."

"I don't think they'll be able to pick up on it when you're right beside me. Besides, I think it would make them more likely to believe I will join their cause, if I am dating a muggle. They seem to be very sympathetic to non-magical folks."

Fred sighed. "I guess you are right, but any funny business and the wand comes out, pretend muggle or no."

"Yes, Fred."

"And I can't be caught dead in some of those outfits some of those muggles wear. We have to find a cool one. A snappy dresser. Really good looking."

"Yes, Fred," Hermione said, growing more amused by the minute.

"And you have to promise you'll stay near me. I'm not letting you do this alone."

She smiled softly at him, realizing for the first time that he really was concerned for her safety and not just George. It was endearing.

"Yes, Fred."


	11. Chapter 11

**I really would love to know what you think so far... please review. :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

Tuesday evening arrived quickly and despite that it had taken ages to find a muggle that Fred thought suitably "conveyed his presence" they were both waiting at the doorstep on Wingfield Avenue breathing deeply and hoping their plan would not fail.

The same frail woman from before opened the door. "I can't believe you actually showed," was all she said as she stepped aside without further greeting.

Hermione wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not as she led Fred into the house. They had decided his name would be James if anyone even asked, but judging by the buzzing and whispering that all seemed to be about her, she wasn't convinced it would even come up.

Premature balding guy entered then and by this point they had overheard enough chatter to know his name was Louis, and he was presumably the leader of whatever _this_ was. The room immediately came to silence at his entrance and he immediately turned his attentions to Hermione.

"Well, you came," he said, observing her so closely that she was beginning to feel a bit exposed.

"I did," she said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.

"And where are the others? Those two fidgety ones from before?"

"They, um, couldn't make it tonight, but they relayed their message and here I am. What is it exactly that you want from me? As you might know, I created an organization called S.P.E.W. (the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) back in my Hogwarts days and am strongly encouraged by what my friends have told me they heard at your last meeting."

She could feel Louis continuing to stare at her and was certain that any moment their cover was going to be blown. She did her best to remain as calm and confident as she possibly could under his intense scrutiny.

"We have indeed heard of your love for other creatures, Miss Granger," he said, "but my question is just how far does that love extend?"

"I'm not sure that I take your meaning."

"Do you recognize that enchanters- witches and wizards as you call them," he said in such a manner that she could tell that the words were difficult for him, "believe themselves to be far superior to any other species? Even other humans?"

"Well, I," Hermione began.

"And are you aware that there are many muggleborns, not unlike yourself, that are tired, no, _sick_ , of this attitude of superiority?"

"I-"

"And are you aware that this same group of people would rather see the demise of magic altogether than continue living secret lives away from those whom we hold dear and feeling shamed for supposed "dirty blood" that runs in our veins?"

"What? Did you just miss the entire wizarding war and all the witches and wizards who sacrificed so much that muggleborns could feel safe? That the people who glorified "pure blood" would be defeated? We won! Voldemort was defeated. The wizarding world is finally starting to heal and return to the wonderful, peaceful place that we all know that it can be."

"As the daughter of muggles, Miss Granger," said Louis, "I must say I find your views to be a little disturbing. Where are your parents now, might I ask?"

"Well, that is…I'm not sure."

"So that was not them here the other night and instead you and Mr. Weasley in disguise?"

"How did-"

Louis waved his arm in indifference. "It doesn't matter how I know, but that I do. I suppose this is Mr. Weasley as well," he asked, his nose crumpled up in obvious revulsion. "Polyjuice potion, really? I would expect more from an enchantress as bright as yourself."

Fred who had managed to remain silent so far throughout this exchange could no longer hold his tongue.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "What is it that you want? To destroy our world? Why? Because you feel inferior for some reason? Guess what? You're always going to feel inferior, but it's not because you are muggleborn, it's because you are pathetic. Now, what have you done with my brother? Yeah, I know you know. Red hair, looks startlingly like me with the exception of the missing ear? Where is he?" He stood up to go searching for his twin when he was suddenly thrown violently back into his seat.

"Who am I?" Louis asked. "Who am I?" He laughed a little before continuing. "I am one of the most powerful enchanters in the world. Oh, yes, don't be fooled. Old Voldemort was no match for me. I have just been biding my time as he did a lot of the work for me. Now that he has the wizarding world at the weakest it's ever been seems like the perfect time to strike. What say you?" he asked, turning to address the others in the room who were nodding in agreement. "You see, muggleborns are extremely powerful. In many cases, such as that of the people in this room, much more powerful than pureblood enchanters. Our powers weren't just something we inherited, weakening as it went down the genealogical line. We are the first of our kind and we have the strongest powers. But with that power, comes a great burden. A burden we did not ask to bear. Our lives have basically been shut off from the muggle world where we no longer fit in. We are shunned by many of our magical counterparts. It is a lonely world, and one that we thought you, of all people, Miss Granger, might understand."

Hermione sat motionless, completely unprepared for the speech she had just heard. He wasn't wrong in a lot of what he said. She had lost her parents to the war. She had erased their memories in order to save their lives, but to her they were as good as dead. She no longer had any contact with any of the muggle world that she grew up in and for no other reason than she no longer fit in. As a witch, she could not ever fit in again. It was too great a secret to hide. And yet, she didn't really fit in the wizarding world right now either. She had spent her entire time in the magical community fighting Voldemort with Harry and Ron and now that time was over. As she had told Fred before, she was alone. She loved magic, but as much as she loved the experience, she missed the close relationships and bonding she had in the muggle world. She knew these people were radical, but a part of her couldn't help but appreciate the thought, the hurt, the feeling, behind what they were saying.

Apparently, her expanded period of thought spoke to Louis, or he was just that desperate for her help, but he decided to let she and Fred leave and give them time to think over what she had learned that night. It was a bold move on his part, knowing that she could descend the greatest witches and wizards alive on him at any moment, but for some reason he seemed to know she wouldn't do that. So, she grabbed a completely dumbfounded Fred by the hand and led him out, unable to speak to him or anyone for the moment. They both had a lot of questions and now was not the time to ask them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for reading! I really would love to hear what you think so far.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

"Don't tell me you are buying that crap," Fred asked, practically fuming as he packed back and forth across the dental office. They had decided as long as they kept the wards up there was really no point in moving. This organization, or whatever it was, was clearly onto them and at least for the present there did not appear to be any imminent threat. Hermione shuddered at what might happen if that changed. "Those people are crazy, Hermione. Radicals! You can't possibly be taking them seriously."

"I'm not buying into anything, Fred, but some of that stuff they said back there is true. You wouldn't understand as a pureblood, but they are right. Everything I knew and held dear for so many years was taken from me when I left for Hogwarts and now adding the thing with my parents…I can see why people would resent it."

"I have no choice for now but to go along with them if we are going to find out what is happening to the others," she continued. "I wonder how many have been affected? Definitely your family. I think we need to go back to the Burrow and see what is going on…this…this poisoning or whatever it is, it has clearly done something to them. Maybe that is why they haven't wanted to look for George. As scary as it is, it could at least finally give us an explanation."

Fred contemplated what she was saying for a few moments, still pacing back and forth across the room in a manner that was becoming maddening to Hermione, but she knew how delicate this topic was and said nothing.

"Why all of them and not me and you? We have all lived under the same roof for months, ate the same food, breathed the same air…what is so special about us?"

"I don't know. Maybe because they need me? Or at least _want_ me to help their cause."

"Yes, I can see that, but they made it pretty clear tonight they find me to be indispensable. And you are muggleborn. In case you haven't noticed, I am not."

"I think you represent what they are most afraid of and therefore most against and I don't think it is that difficult to see why-"

"So that's it then?" he asked. "You think your time in the wizarding world isn't worth it? Do you wish it all had never happened? That you had never heard of the Weasleys? Or Hogwarts? Or even Harry? C'mon, Hermione, if anyone fits in this world it is you. You were meant to be a witch."

"Yeah, maybe, but at the expense of everything I held dear? I have nothing from my former life, Fred. Nothing but this quickly crumbling dental office." She looked around, spying a slow leak in the ceiling that all but made her point. "Not everyone has had the experiences I have had. I have been both blessed and cursed in the wizard world, but I made my choices and now I have to live with them. I can see why some people don't feel the same way. The secrecy of our world has always been an issue for a lot of muggleborns.

"Do you think Louis was right about muggleborns being stronger than purebloods and half bloods?"

"I don't know. The most powerful witches and wizards in history have not been muggleborn that I am aware."

"Maybe they haven't been given the opportunity given Voldemort, Grindewald and their followers. It sure seems like it could be true if you are the example." Her expression softened a little at his compliment and she took a deep breath to remind herself that Fred was not the enemy and up until a few days ago she had not even realized she had these hidden emotions bubbling at the surface. It certainly wasn't his fault.

"Well, I have also seen Seamus Finnigan burn off his eyebrows, so…" she laughed, hoping to help ease the tension growing between them.

"Yeah, but even McGonagall admired his talent for pyrotechnics."

"You would appreciate something like that."

"Naturally." He smiled at her, almost a shy smile if there was such a thing from a Weasley twin. "That's not important right now," he said. "What's important is that we don't argue and work together to figure out what is happening to the people that both of us love. After that, I've already told you I will help you find your parents, but if there is anything else we can do to help you feel more comfortable, we will. I guess I've never thought much about what it must really be like to be suddenly thrust into a whole new world. We'll help you find your way, Hermione. Just like we're going to find George and Angelina."

"Thanks, Fred," she said, settling into one of the couches in the office's waiting area with a couple of blankets her parents always kept in the closet for patients. It brought at least a small sense of comfort thinking of how considerate they always were of how nervous most muggles were to go to the dentist. "So the Burrow tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. And even if Mom is on something she's still a pretty good cook."

Hermione smiled fondly to herself before her eyes fluttered close. "Good night, Fred."

"Good night, Hermione."


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the delay. I actually ended up in the hospital for about a week. Long story. But I am back now and looking forward to finishing this story. Please take time to let me know what you think. :) Thank you!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

Arriving at the Burrow had been a much more alarming experience than they could have ever expected. The house, despite being slightly cluttered, usually ran with the upmost efficiency thanks to Molly Weasley's diligence and often remarkable uses of household magic.

Today, however, it was almost unrecognizable.

Dishes were piled everywhere, an odd assortment of books and magazines were strewn across the dinner table, and there was a strange smell coming from the cupboard.

"Hello?" Fred called out, searching for signs of life in his usually bustling childhood home.

"In here," Mrs. Weasley's voice rang out from the far corner of the living room. At first glance she looked the same, but upon closer inspection it was clear that her clothes were just as disheveled as the house and her arm was thrown casually over the side of her chair and her feet were propped up on the side table.

Fred and Hermione stared at his mother in shock. "Mum?" he asked slowly, even more startled as they realized she was reading a copy of "Witch Weekly" and smacking on a large wad of muggle chewing gum.

A sudden clanging noise turned their attention to the corner where they found Mr. Weasley, donned in a backwards muggle baseball cap, a sight which would have been comical had the situation not been quite so serious.

Hermione watched in horror as he grabbed for the bottle of firewhiskey and quickly downed a full glass. Never mind the fact that she had never seen the man drink anything stronger than pumpkin juice in his life, it was also only 9 am!

Ron, Harry, and Ginny were nowhere to be found and when Fred questioned their whereabouts his mother and father seemed slightly shocked to find they were not there.

"Mrs. Weasley," Hermione urged, "please think. When was the last time you saw them?"

"I'm quite sure they were here for lunch," Mr. Weasley chimed in proudly. "Yes, quite so."

"Dad," Fred exclaimed, "it is only just past breakfast now. Do you mean yesterday's lunch?"

"Is it really?" his father asked, evidently finding this information to be only mildly interesting. He shrugged and reached out to pour himself another glass of firewhiskey while his wife giggled in the corner.

"Dad, please!" Fred begged, grabbing the bottle from his Mr. Weasley's hands. "What is wrong with you and Mum? I have never seen you have even a drop of this stuff before. And since when does Mum care about beauty secrets and celebrity gossip?" His mother dropped the magazine and Hermione picked it up, flipping through it with obvious disgust.

"It's quite good though, isn't it?" Mr. Weasley asked, nodding at the bottle in Fred's hands. "Really takes the edge off, doesn't it dear?"

"Oh, yes, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley said, giggling again. "Do try some Hermione, dear. Oh, and let me see that." She grabbed the magazine out of Hermione's hands. "You and Fred made the couples' section!"

"What?!" Fred and Hermione shouted simultaneously.

"Yes, of course," Mrs. Weasley said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Page 34. There it is, right there. Look. Most eligible witch is off the market, it says."

Sure enough, blasted across the tabloid page was that exact headline, above a grainy photo of herself and Fred, clearly taken during their time in muggle London. But what did it mean? Was it just a coincidence or could it have been part of the bigger overall conspiracy? She had no idea.

Still, the current state of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley was far more concerning than a tabloid photo right now. What was happening to them? She grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey, slipping it in her bag to test for, well, something, later. She figured it wouldn't hurt them to lay off of it even if that wasn't causing the problem. She scanned the room, trying to see anything that might give her a clue as to why they were acting so strangely.

"Mrs. Weasley," she asked, "has anyone been by the house lately? Someone unexpected?" It seemed unlikely. Even with the war over the Weasleys had been diligent about keeping wards and precautionary spells up. There were still too many people out there that might be interested in revenge.

"Of course not, dear. You know that is impossible."

"What about outside the Burrow? Have you encountered anyone that seemed strange to you?"

"No, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, traces of her warm, matronly smile present in her response.

"In fact," Mr. Weasley added, "we have met some of the nicest people recently. Why at Diagon Alley just the other day we met the nicest couple. We have been really lacking in other friendly couples to socialize with since the war and they were so pleasant, weren't they Molly? We had a lovely pint with them at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Pints? Leaky Cauldron?" Fred exclaimed. "Who are you and what have you done with my parents?"

"What were their names?" Hermione asked, ignoring Fred's outburst.

"Well, now that you mention it, I don't actually know," Mr. Weasley said, only seeming to find that strange for a moment. "But they were lovely people. Just lovely!"

"I'm sure," Hermione said grimly. This was clearly a bad sign. They knew these people were after the Weasleys, but they had obviously infiltrated their lives farther than they had realized and in a relatively short time. Hermione was torn at what to do. Part of her wanted to stay here and protect them, part of her wanted to search for the others, part of her wanted to confront Louis and his groupies, part of her wanted to hide and cry. She couldn't decide which part was winning at the moment, all of the options seeming so exhausting. This was so unfair. After all they had been through, it seemed clear another war was brewing, this one more frightening before if for no other reason than the unknown.

Fortunately, at that moment, Fred stepped in. "Mum, Dad, can you do me a favor?" he asked. "Please stay at home for awhile. Don't let anyone in, okay? And don't go to Diagon Alley or out anywhere away from the Burrow. Something is happening and Hermione and I are going to try and find out what it is. We need you to do this for us. Can you do that?"

"I really don't think that is necessary, Freddie," Mrs. Weasley began, but he cut her off.

"Please, Mum," he urged. "Dad?" he asked, looking intensely at them both, hoping to reach them through whatever spells or strange magic was affecting their minds.

"Okay," Mr. Weasley said finally, although Hermione wasn't sure how good his word could be after all the effects of the whiskey, not counting anything else.

"Thank you," said Fred. "Now, we will be back to check on you very soon. If you see the others, can you tell them to find us? We will be staying at our flat."

"Oooh, I knew it, "Mrs. Weasley said with excitement. "They are a couple, Arthur!"

"Mum! We are not a couple. Hermione and I are working together on fixing this, okay? That is all. Now can you do that for us?"

"Okay, dear. Whatever you say."

Fred looked at Hermione and nodded. She walked over and after one last hesitant glance around the Burrow followed him through the floo to the flat that he and George shared.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"What are you doing?" Hermione demanded as she entered the twins' flat and watched Fred flop down on the couch, immediately pulling off his shoes and propping up his feet.

"I am resting for a minute, Granger. You should try it some time." He reached for one foot, massaging the middle, his eyes closing in pleasure at the sensation.

"Fred! We don't have time to rest. Did you not just see your parents back there? Something is clearly very wrong. Not to mention that your other siblings and Harry are missing now, on top of George and Angelina, and then there's Louis and his groupies-" She paused for a moment to catch her breath, but instead of continuing she sank down on the couch beside him, leaning down with her elbows in her lap, hands in her face, and began to sob.

"And this is why we are resting. You think I don't want to find them just as much as you do? Or that I enjoyed that display with my parents back there? Well, I do and I didn't. All I know is that this has been one hell of a week and apparently, it isn't going to be getting better any time soon. I can't have you cracking up, too."

"So what then?" she asked, looking up at him, her eyes red and face puffy from the tears. "We sit here and prop up our feet while things could be getting worse with every passing moment?"

"That's pretty much what we did last time, isn't it? Sit around waiting? But that's not what I'm suggesting here. I just know we haven't slept in a real bed all week and I don't remember the last time we had an actual meal. It's not doing us any favors."

"And sitting here on our bums while these monsters are out harming your family isn't doing them any favors!"

"I don't think one night is going to make a whole lot of difference," he said, his voice firm.

"But it might. It might make all the difference."

"When you are out with Harry and Ron all those months, did you guys never stop to eat or rest?" he asked, causing her to tense up. She was about to argue, about to yell at him that they had done the best they could, that it hadn't been easy figuring out the horcruxes, when she realized that he was sincere. He really wanted to know.

"Ron...he never told you anything?" she guessed.

"No, nothing. As far as I know Harry hasn't even told Ginny. We figured you would talk about it when you're ready."

"Well, if you are ever ready," he added after a moment's pause. "Look, Hermione, I don't want to pressure you. You don't have to tell me anything. Whatever went on during that time had to have been terrible for you."

"It's okay," she said slowly, lost in thought. "Do you remember that night at the castle? I'm being silly, of course you do, it was only the largest battle of our lives, anyway, do you remember that we were searching for something belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw? Her lost diadem?"

Fred only nodded, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"It was a horcrux, and it was not the only one. There ended up being seven and Dumbledore wanted us to find them and destroy them, only we had no idea where to begin. All we knew is that Dumbledore believed it was the only way to defeat Voldemort. That's where we went, after the wedding, searching for Horcruxes. Only, when you don't know what you are actually looking for…"

"There was a lot of sitting around and waiting?" Fred asked softly, a small smile crossing his lips.

Hermione let out a small laugh and nodded at him, the tears returning to her eyes. "It was awful. We couldn't risk being seen, Harry was the most wanted wizard in the world and Ron and I weren't far behind. So, we just hid out for months, trying to figure out our next move. It wasn't until Ron came back that we even had any clue if any of you were safe."

Fred leaned forward, putting his arm gently around her. He didn't say anything, not knowing what good words would really do anyway. He pulled her in closer and they sat quietly for several minutes, his hand rubbing up and down her arm trying to soothe her. He wanted to know more about that time. That time where he and the rest of the Weasleys spent every second hoping for even a scrap of news to let them know the three of them were okay. She would likely never know how much he had worried. Not just for Ron, his brother, or even Harry, but for her.

"I can't do it again, Fred. I can't wait and see if my loved ones are safe. I have to do something. Tomorrow might be too late."

He smiled grimly, but still shook his head in disagreement. "Sssh…I know, but it's not going to be too late. They want you, remember? They aren't going to jeopardize that now. Not when they think they might still have a chance at getting through to you."

"They aren't getting through to me." She started to pull away in protest, clearly upset at the accusation.

"I didn't say they were," he said, holding up his hand to stop her. "I just know that if you are going off fighting a bunch of weirdos it is certainly not going to be when you aren't at your full strength. Now, come on, I'm as…scared…as you are," he said swallowing hard over the word, before continuing on, "but we need to eat…and rest."

Hermione felt her defiance waning as he made his argument. Finally, she smiled softly. "Eat and rest…a true Weasley twin motto if there was one, I assume?"

"Oh, you know it," he grinned.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. I would love to hear from you! Thanks to those that are sticking with me. :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks for reading! I really appreciate hearing from you.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

Hermione sat perched over what had to be at least her third cup of coffee arguing with Fred for what felt like the zillionth time over her plan. She had tried explaining rationally, compromising, even yelling, but nothing was getting through to him. Despite all the caffeine, she could feel her eyes glazing over as he argued his case once again.

"Are you mad?" he asked, his eyes blazing, which Hermione found to be a humorous combination when paired with his fiery red hair. "You can't join this group of lunatics. Who knows what might happen to you? What do you think they might do to Harry Potter's best friend once they are done with you? Huh? I doubt it's anything too sweet and innocent, I'll tell you that. They'll use you for leverage and then what will happen to you?"

"You think that Harry will betray me then, is that it?" Hermione asked innocently, unable to help being amused by his rantings. It was not a side you saw all that often with Fred, as he and George were usually so good-natured.

"No, of course not, woman. Are you even listening to what I'm saying to you?" He sat down on the bench across from her so hard that it made her coffee slosh out of the mug. "Hermione," he said, more calmly this time, "you have to see how dangerous this is…these people, they want to destroy us all."

"They want to strip us of our powers, Fred, not kill us."

"Well, that's as good as, isn't it?"

Hermione looked startled for a moment before growing angry. "Really, Fred? Being a muggle is as good as being dead?" She could feel the heat rising to her face and knew her ears were growing red as they always did when she was mad. How dare he?

"No, that's not what I meant at all. It's not about prejudice. You grew up without magic, you know how to survive in a world where it does not exist, but me, my family? We wouldn't make it, Hermione. It is all we have ever known. It's our livelihood. Our shop, Ginny's Quidditch career, Harry and Ron as aurors, Dad's job at the ministry…"

"You could find muggle jobs, Fred. You aren't helpless."

Not jobs we could ever hope to be as successful at as we are in the wizarding world. Not to mention, we don't know how to drive cars, have any muggle money, cook without magic… it's not just the Weasleys...think how many witches and wizards just like us would be unleashed unto the muggle world. You would be taking away our very way of life."

She sighed, realizing he was right. It would not just destroy his way of life, but hers, too. It had been as many years now since she first heard of Hogwarts as she had spent oblivious of the place. It was engrained in her just as much as her friends. That was why she had to help them.

"I have to do this, Fred," she said softly. "You know I do. Right now, it's our only chance."

Fred exhaled loudly, looking as defeated as she had ever seen him. She knew he was also coming to understand that it was the only way, but she also knew he did not like it. Not one bit.

"Okay," he said, causing her to perk up a little before he continued. "Okay, but only if you let me come with you."

Hermione gasped. "What? You know I can't do that."

"Take it or leave it, Granger."

"I don't have to take or leave it, _Weasley_. I am not a little kid. I can do what I want."

"And _so_ , can I. And I will follow you either way."

It was Hermione's turn to exhale loudly, the exasperation evident. "Fred, you know you cannot go into that place. They will take you prisoner, or worse, kill you."

He folded his arms in defiance. "I'm going either way, Hermione. With or without your knowledge or approval."

They sat in silence for a long time, the tension in the room was obvious, but mostly Hermione was trying to gather her thoughts and Fred, for once, was letting her. Finally, she stood up and walked out of the room before returning a moment later. Before he could speak she threw Mrs. Weasley's tattered copy of Witch Weekly down on the table in front of him.

"Ummm, I love good gossip as much as the next guy, but this seems like a strange time to be reading tabloids."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," she said, grabbing the magazine from his hands and quickly flipping to the page in question. The page that showed the two of them hand in hand in muggle London, very much looking like a couple.

"I'm still not following. Though I do look rather dashing if I do say so myself."

"Ugh," she said, rolling her eyes. "Look, if you are going, polyjuice potion clearly isn't going to work this time, is it?" she asked. "You'll have to be yourself. And the only way I can see that they will buy that Fred Weasley would possibly join their cause was if he was hopelessly in love with Hermione Granger."

Fred stared in shock between the magazine and Hermione trying to process what she was suggesting.

"You want me to date you?" He continued staring at her completely flabbergasted.

"I want you to _pretend_ to date me," she said, shaking her head. "To keep you alive."

"What if they don't buy it?" he asked. "They'll never buy it."

"I guess we just have to hope that they do, don't we?


End file.
